The least affordable cities for apartments

March 11, 2013

But the share is higher in most of the 50 biggest areas. And many of the areas with high rents are surprisingly affordable, relative to others, because incomes are also high.

Click through this gallery to see all of the 50 largest areas, by number of households, ranked in order of the share of renters who cannot afford the U.S. Department of Housing fair market rent. Tiebreakers are rent as a share of median income and income needed to afford fair market rent, in that order.

We start with No. 50. Tacoma, where an estimated 51 percent of renters are unable to afford a two-bedroom apartment at U.S. Department of Housing fair market rent. This rent requires an income of $38,560, which is 103 percent of median income.

But the share is higher in most of the 50 biggest areas. And many of the areas with high rents are surprisingly affordable, relative to others, because incomes are also high.

Click through this gallery to see all of the 50 largest areas, by number of households, ranked in order of the share of renters who cannot afford the U.S. Department of Housing fair market rent. Tiebreakers are rent as a share of median income and income needed to afford fair market rent, in that order.

We start with No. 50. Tacoma, where an estimated 51 percent of renters are unable to afford a two-bedroom apartment at U.S. Department of Housing fair market rent. This rent requires an income of $38,560, which is 103 percent of median income.